I can’t get enough of Cooke’s retro art. And he’s not a bad
writer either. So this special devoted to Cooke was a joy to read. Maybe he
should try his hand at some Marvel characters one day.

29. Optic Nerve #14 (Drawn & Quarterly,
2015) ****¾

Writer/artist: Adrian Tomine

He takes years between issues, but it’s always worth the
wait. Arguably, Killing And Dying – about a stuttering, untalented wannabe
comedienne – is the best short story Tomine’s ever created. The only reason
this issue loses a quarter star is the fact that when I pay more than $10 for a
comic, I don’t want 4½ blank pages in the middle of a 42-page magazine! But I
forgive Tomine his sins. I hope he makes lots of money from this comic to pay
for his expanding family.

After the clusterfuck that was The Multiversity, I’d lost faith in the magician. But reading this
earlier, sweeping series starring a bunch of C-listers and reimagined B-listers
made me a Morrison believer again. Sure, the tale is convoluted, confusing in
parts and resolved in a way that I didn’t quite understand (with too many
rabbits pulled out of too many arses for my liking), but damn! I enjoyed the
ride.

Some of the miniseries were fantastic in their own right,
particularly Klarion (creepily illustrated
by Frazer Irving) and Frankenstein (strong,
visceral artwork by Doug Mahnke). Other series didn’t do quite so well, but
only the unnecessary reimagining of Mister Miracle failed to impress me.

All in all, a fine effort by Mr Morrison and friends,
showing he can juggle multiple characters and complicated story arcs without
disappearing up his own sphincter.

I didn’t mind this cult film when it came to video –
starring Alex Winter, the unsuccessful half of Bill & Ted – but this
adaptation is pedestrian.

81. Fanboy #5 (DC, 1999) ***¼

Writer: Mark Evanier/Artists: Sergio Aragones & friends

I’m not a fan of Evanier’s writing and I gather he’s a bit
of a dick in real life, but I love Aragones’ art and this particular issue of
this odd miniseries is a hoot. A bunch of legendary Batman artists – including
Dick Sprang, Neal Adams and Frank Miller – contribute two pages each as Fanboy
Finster teams up with the Dark Knight in a wacky fantasy tale. Fun stuff.

82. The Worm (Slab-O-Concrete Publications,
1991, 1999) ***

Writers: Alan Moore (story); Jamie Delano, Steve Moore,
Garth Ennis, Andrew Cartmel, Hilary Robinson (script); Artists: 125 British
cartoonists, including Grant Bisley (cover), John Bolton, Charlie Adlard, Kevin
O’Neill, Bryan Talbot, Glenn Fabry and Paul Grist
Add an introduction by Neil Gaiman and you have the greatest collection of
British talent ever assembled in one venue for one cause. This was a
fund-raiser held in 1991 to create “the longest comic strip in the world”, done
to aid the Cartoon Art Trust. Eight
years later, more money was raised when the project was turned into this book.
The story is kinda wish-fulfillment fantasy – the idea of the everyman
cartoonist travelling through (and recording) history, being abused and exploited
by big business, then breaking free to create a better world where cartoonists
are exalted as gods. Weird, big-concept stuff...as you’d expect from Alan
Moore. Its’ a patchy-but-worthy project.

83. Injection #1 (Image, 2015) **½

Writer: Warren Ellis/Artist: Declan Shalvey

More middling drivel from Ellis. Can do better.

84. Mythic #1 (Image, 2015) **

Writer: Phil Hester/Artist: John McCrea

A mythical version of Men
In Black. Pedestrian and trying too had to be “quirky cool”. Give it a
miss.

85. Retro Sci-fi Tales #2 (Dark Oz, 2015)
***½

Writers/artists: various

86. Decay #19 (Dark Oz, 2015) ****

Writers/artists: various

I’m always happy to support local comics if they’re good,
and these two anthologies have much to recommend them. Retro Sci-fi Tales had plenty of lost dinosaurs, marooned
astronauts and sexy moon babes to entertain me, my fave strip being “Marilyn On
The Lost Planet” (written by Darren Koziol and drawn by good-girl artist
extraordinaire Michal Dutkiewicz).

I don’t normally buy Decay,
but this ish had me salivating as it brought back a ton of classic 80s Aussie
characters, most written and drawn by their original creators. The Southern
Squadron, Dark Nebula, Greener Pastures, Hairbutt The Hippo... A lot of fond
teenage memories there.

These comics are full colour, published on high-quality
paper and are well worth seeking out. You can buy them direct from www.darkoz.com.au.

87. Silver Surfer #11 (Marvel, 2015) ***¾

Writer: Dan Slott/Artist: Michael Allred

If this was the last issue of this run, then the series went
out on a high. It will be missed.

This certainly wasn’t the last series Steve Gerber wrote
before his untimely death in 2008, but it’s arguably his finest work (Howard
The Duck, notwithstanding).

Ethan, 15, is sentenced to 50 years’ jail for a high school
prank gone horribly wrong. He quickly makes plenty of enemies, including the
Aryan Brotherhood and an insane fundamentalist Christian inmate. But Ethan has
a secret – a powerful entity that lives within him that comes alive at night to
do his violent bidding. This intense cross between TV’s Oz and DC’s own Johnny Thunder works incredibly well, mainly due to
Gerber’s funny, powerful dialogue. Thankfully, he doesn’t write in that
exhausting purple prose he used at Marvel in the 1970s. The writing here is
more subtle, nuanced and, dare I say it, realistic. Hurtt’s artwork is great
(as always). This is a hidden gem of a series that deserves more consideration
from fans and critics. It’s tragic that Gerber was still peaking as a writer before
he passed away. He deserves to be remembered for more than just a talking duck.